Contents

Appearance

The Cannibal was black as coal. He was the largest and oldest of the wild dragons.

History

The Cannibal's exact age has not yet been stated. The wild dragon Sheepstealer is said to have hatched when the Old King was young - that is, early in the reign of Jaehaerys I. The Cannibal is stated to have been the eldest and largest of the three wild dragons, and was therefore even older than Sheepstealer.

The Cannibal was known to attack smaller dragons. He laired at the back of Dragonmont. Prior to the Dance of the Dragons a dozen would-be dragontamers had made attempts to ride him and his lair was littered with their bones.

Some among the smallfolk of Dragonstone claimed that the Cannibal lived on the island even before the Targaryens arrived in 114BC. If it was from a different lineage of Valyrian dragons altogether, that might have explained why it was so antagonistic to the other Targaryen dragons. However at least some maesters doubt these claims.[2]

When Silver Denys, a man who claimed to be a descendent of King Maegor I Targaryen, tried to master Sheepstealer the dragon tore off his arm. As his sons struggled to staunch his wound the Cannibal descended on them, drove off Sheepstealer and devoured Silver Denys and his sons.

When the carcass of the Grey Ghost was discovered at the Dragonmont's base Ser Robert Quince was quick to name the Cannibal as the killer (in fact it was Sunfyre). The fisherfolk began to worry that the dragon would turn upon them and urged Ser Robert to have the Cannibal dispatched but he refused, reasoning that if they left the dragon alone he would not bother them.

It is said that, during the burial at sea of Corlys Velaryon, the Cannibal took wing and flew to salute the deceased. As Gyldayn notes, however, this account might be an later embroidery, since that attitude is not consistent with the observed behavior of the dragon.[3]

The Cannibal survived the Dance of the Dragons, only to mysteriously vanish after the war.[2]